Kiper's take

Just spent the better part of the past couple hours on a conference-call interview session with ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper.

I got a few tidbits out of it that I found interesting -- not all of them Bucs-related, however.

* For one, Kiper is convinced USF cornerback Mike Jenkins could land here and has him destined for Tampa in his latest mock draft. I think we all feel there's a realistic chance of that happening, but my biggest question is whether Jenkins will still be on the board. That will depend on the order in which the top cornerbacks are selected. Kiper does have some pretty good insight into what teams are thinking and how they view certain players, so there's something to be said for his projections. Time will tell, I suppose.

"I can't see any way he gets past the first round," he said. If Flacco had played at a major college, Kiper added, Flacco would be debated as potentially the best quarterback in the draft. Kiper cites Flacco's size and arm strength and coachability -- determined from personal workouts with teams -- as his best qualities.

* And, finally, like a lot of us, Kiper said he fully expects the Bucs to address quarterback somewhere in the draft, though not in the first round. With quarterback being a position many teams perceive to have good value even in the later rounds, it might make a lot of sense -- despite the 49 quarterbacks already on the roster! My guess is you should look for move anytime after the second round.

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